Chapter 38 #2
Priest and Kaymen peeped the energy, so they stood up from their seats and followed Ahk’s lead.
My heart drummed against my chest as I watched Ahk open the door cautiously.
The second the gears shifted on the lock; the door was rammed open, and agents sporting blue and yellow FBI marked jackets stormed into the doorway.
They had their guns up, faces twisted up coldly as their badges illuminated against the sunlight that poured in through the windows of the home.
“FBI and NYPD! Hands where we can see them!” they ordered, shaking up the peace we were basking in.
My heart dropped to the soles of my feet as they swarmed our new home, trudging their muddy boots all over our polished floors. Screams of terror aired out of Britain and Jadey as they held their babies in their arms, shielding them from the guns that were being shoved in our faces.
“Hands where we can see them!”
“No sudden movements!” they continued to bark at us. We were so in shock that we couldn’t even fully comprehend what the fuck they were instructing us to do.
“Yo, what the fuck is all this?!” Ahkeem snarled as he was being shoved down to his knees with a gun pointed at his head.
The sight of him defenseless caused my heart to shatter. I shrieked in terror. “Don’t fucking shoot! He’s cooperating!”
Priest put his hands down and stepped forward, his eyes full of rage and darkness. “Hold the fuck up－”
Quickly, the swarm of guns that were once aimed evenly at everyone were now locked in solely on my brother. “We said don’t fucking move!”
“Priest, please!” Britain cried out desperately while clutching a wailing Eden in her arms. “Listen to them P, please!”
My brother’s jaws tightened. His dark orbs scanned around the room before considering his wife’s pleas.
He returned to his position of his hands raised in the air.
Just as quick and forceful as they had been with Ahkeem, they shoved him to the floor on his knees right in the center of our family room.
“They didn’t do shit! What the fuck is going on?!” Kaymen bellowed with his hands up.
A group of officers quickly took him down to his knees as well. Jadey clamored in fear, startling the twins she had in her arms.
Our husbands’ arms were pulled behind them, and handcuffs were slung onto their wrists. They were shoved down lower to the floor, forced to lay on their stomachs.
“Daddy?!” Saphir shrieked from the top of the stairs.
“Daddy?!” Genesis followed up. After they finished eating, they went upstairs to play in Saphir’s room. The ruckus downstairs prompted them to attempt to come down.
The guns that swung in their direction caused Britain, Jadey, and I to scream. “They’re babies! Put the guns down!” I cried out with salty tears running down my face.
“Blue! I’m alright. Go back upstairs!” Ahkeem hollered to his son as his face was plastered against the cold floor.
“I’m good too, Genesis! Stay upstairs with your cousin!” Priest assured.
“Kids, come downstairs!” one of the agents ordered the boys without even having the decency to soften his tone for them as if they weren’t traumatized enough.
“C’mon, man. They’ve seen enough! Let the kids stay upstairs!” Kaymen tried to reason.
“We need to secure the home to ensure no one poses as a threat.”
“They’re fucking kids, yo!” Priest gritted.
They didn’t give a fuck. An agent went up the stairs and escorted Blue and Gen down. They lined our boys up against the wall like they were fucking criminals right in front of their fathers, who were handcuffed on the floor.
“Genesis, Saphir, close your eyes,” Britain instructed them through tears.
The boys did as they were told. They were petrified and in tears while they shut their eyes.
“Please, what is all of this about?!”
The same agent who took down Ahkeem at the door whipped out a warrant from his back pocket. “Ahkeem Hendrix, you’re under arrest pursuant to a federal warrant for the shooting at Club Reign.” When those words left his mouth, I felt like I had gotten hit with a ton of bricks.
How the fuck was this happening right now?!
Shit had been quiet since the shooting. As far as we knew, shit went cold after Kaymen made sure to garner each and every trace of camera footage on the block and from the club. It was a dead end for the Feds, or so we fucking thought.
“What?! That’s not right!” I screamed.
Quickly, eyes turned to me. “Jazzlyn Hendrix, you’re under arrest for involvement in the shooting.”
As if my heart hadn’t shattered enough, once those words struck my ears, I felt like my heart had been obliterated. Without an ounce of remorse, a female cop took me down, slamming me to the floor with my hands pinned behind the back.
“Take it easy! She’s fucking pregnant!” Ahkeem roared. I could hear the rage in his voice. He wanted so badly to protect me, but he couldn’t.
“She isn’t resisting, and she’s pregnant! There’s no need for the unnecessary force!” Britain quickly came to my defense. Despite her finding out that I was pregnant under these circumstances, she quickly grew protective of our baby.
I internally prayed that none of this would prompt another miscarriage. I didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with another loss. My husband and I were just celebrating, on a high about our pregnancy and new home. All that was short lived now that we were in handcuffs.
Our new home that was filled with nothing but peace and love just a moment ago went to pure chaos.
Britain and Jadey were directed to stand against the wall with the kids.
The Feds ransacked drawers and cupboards.
They flipped furniture and slammed doors, evoking piercing cries from Eden and the twins.
An agent ran past me carrying my laptop, while another agent ordered a search of the entire home and garage.
One by one, they lifted Priest, Kaymen, Ahkeem, and me from the floor.
“Listen to me, Lovey,” Ahkeem said urgently, his voice cutting through the pandemonium within the home. “Don’t say shit! Not to nobody! You hear me? Lawyer the fuck up!”
Through my tears, I nodded my head at my husband.
“Gioia, call up Abraham soon as you can!” Priest instructed his wife, sure that she would make the call for all of us.
The Feds pulled us apart, dragging us out the door of our home as if we weren’t the owners.
Outside, red and blue flashing lights washed over the yard.
Sirens blared, shaking up the once quiet and gated community.
Our neighbors, whom we haven’t had the chance to even introduce ourselves to, stood frozen in their front yards, watching our messy life spill out into the lawn.
I was shoved into the back of a squad car while Ahkeem was shoved into the one behind me. They forced Kaymen and Priest to sit on the curb, keeping them detained.
As I watched them carelessly run through our forever home, the hard truth settled heavily in my chest.
We would never have peace, and forever was about to be decided in a courtroom, not in our newly purchased home like I had envisioned.
This was our reality.